The Good Ole' Days
by Lightly Salted Pringles
Summary: I've decided to write a few one-shots about the team reminiscing about the day the Arrow became a real part of their life. Includes Felicity, Diggle, and Roy. Considering Laurel. Already has stellar Reviews: "I laughed, I cried, I gained 10 pounds" -Stephen Colbert "Its a must read. Can't wait to put it on my fridge" - Barrack Obama *not exact quotes* *may be out of context*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first One-shot I hope you like it. It's not really a big plot type story, but I had an idea and went with it. Review if you like, I have a few other Ides for a One-shots. Feel free to check out my other story: One Step Forward Two Steps Back. **

*_Current day*_

Felicity sat in her chair on the top floor of Queen Conciliated. She hated her job here, but couldn't deny the view was spectacular. With her back to her desk all her attention was on the magnificent sunset, and the various shades of pink, orange, reds, and purples that painted the night sky. She couldn't see this side of the city from lower levels. She couldn't see the sun slowly set on the horizon and the sky grow dark. And she defiantly couldn't see the city come alive. Before she took her job here, as Oliver's Executive Assistant, she had never noticed the city and all of its splendid beauty. The way the orange building lights flood the city streets and the Christmas lights turned on in the trees that so gracefully lined the sidewalk. Cars sped one way and the other, people going home after a long day of working, and other people coming to their night jobs after a long day of resting.

There was only one building taller than Queen Conciliated that she could see from her window she watched as all the lights on that building went out. She temporarily got very concerned and scooted to the edge of her desk, but before she could do anything further some of the lights started coming back on, only the lights were red now, and they formed the shape of a heart on the side of the building.

`She relaxed into her chair and thought about two people sitting down in the city deeply in love; she pictured a sweet marriage proposal to go with the gorgeous light display. This is why she has two jobs. This is why she works her butt off here only to go down into a dingy, poorly lit basement and work her butt off some more. It wasn't so she felt good about herself, or so she could sleep soundly knowing she saved some one's life. It was for the people who scurried around going to and from work, the lovers eating in the restaurant, the families in the park, and the old lady sitting on the bench she has to pass everyday on her way to work.

She remembered when she was one of those people. Pleasantly oblivious of the internal wars going on in the city. Walking to her car which she had to park in a parking garage a few blocks away. Lowly IT assistants didn't get VIP treatment like the CEO's Executive assistant. That was a major plus side of her job now. But she still couldn't stop the memories from flooding her brain, her eyes stay fixated on the night sky and the red heart shape glow that covers the city, but her mind is a million miles away…. Think about the day her life changed forever.

*_Flash back*_

Felicity's feet pounded on the pavement, she was late again! She couldn't believe herself; she had so much paper work to turn in and computers to fix, She ran inside flustered.

"Hi Ben," She says as she tries to steady her hand long enough to swipe her security card to move past the front desk. "Hello there, Sweet heart." Ben told her. Ben was a senior worker; he was going on 72 but refused to retire. _"What would I do? Feed the birds? I hate birds. Read the newspaper? Whatever I read makes me mad, and my blood pressure rises too high. I can't even sit on porch and yell at the neighbor kids, because none of my fellow senior neighbor's kids ever visit them. So I'm going to keep working." _What he really meant was "_I can't be home alone; I miss my wife too much." _She had passed away a few years ago and that when he decided to come back to work.

She tried to sift the items in her hand: A laptop, a stack of papers a few manila envelopes, some file folders, her purse, and her ID card. "Here," he said pressing a button from behind the desk he was sitting at, "I happen to know you are going to be late for a particular meeting with you supervisor If you aren't in there in five minutes." The little green light flashed as she pushed her way through the turnstile. "You are a life saver Ben." She said and scurried down the hall to the elevator. She had been telling Ben about this meeting coming up where she and her supervisor had to prepare an expense report and talk about cutting costs, which essentially meant firing all nonessential personal. She was worried about Ben's status but when she mentioned it to him her just shrugged. "_The I guess I'll just sit here and do it for free."_ He had said.

Felicity sat down at her desk. The meeting was over and they only had to fire a few of the paid interns or reduce their status back to unpaid intern. However, that left her with a lot of paper work. She clicked her pen on the desk and put the end of it in her mouth. She had once tried to stop the habit but once she had become aware of it, she started to do even worse things, like click a pen until someone takes it from you, or pop her lips, or click her tongue. She never trusted her lips. Always saying unreliable things, her stupidly dirty brain always ruining her conversations or embarrassing her to the point of no return. She swiveled in her chair to review the papers she had collected when she heard someone walk into her cubical. "Hey Sweetheart, Ready to go?" It was Ben. He was referring to their lunch plans; she always had lunch with him. (She paid for the both of them of course. But he always paid for dessert)

She ran her finger through her pony tail, She was tired and really needed to finish this ridiculously long task that had been set before her.. "You know what, Ben? I have a lot of work to do. Like a lot. But, if I get it most of it done I'll go to dinner with you tonight." Why not? It's not like she had anything better to do. She didn't have any time for men; she was too busy trying to acquire a raise. "No, problem Sweetie, I'll see you at seven then."

She turned her attention back to her papers slowly reading them. "See you at seven." Those were the last words she heard, as she dived back into her work. It was still relatively early in the day and she wasn't hungry yet so she had awhile. She kept reading her reports and chewing her pen until she heard someone clear his throat. She didn't realize that the next words she heard were going to change her world forever, "Felicity Smoak? Hi I'm Oliver Queen."

_*Current day*_

"Felicity," She heard his voice. The voice she loved the voice that gave her an opportunity to do something to improve the city she loved so dearly. She turned to see Oliver looking at her with a slight smile. "Ready to go save the city?" He said extending his arm. "Ready." She said linking arms with her boss/partner in crime. He led her to elevator and let go of her arm. It was one thing to link arms in the privacy of your office, Even if you were only friends. There was no reason to add fuel to the fire, fire being the rumor about her sleeping with her boss to get a promotion. And fuel…. Well, holding his arm and escorting her out of the building was sort of a big deal. All of her fellow employs had quit talking to her, except for one. "Goodnight Ben." She said passing the security desk. "Good night doll!" He called after her. "Still on for lunch tomorrow?" He asked. She stopped and gave him a large grin. "I can't wait."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I spent a lot of time on this and re-wrote it several times. I just didn't like it. So I suppose this is my final draft. Hope you enjoy reading more than I enjoyed writing. **

_**Roy**_

Roy was angry, and in truth, had every right to be. The love of his life, Thea, was gone. She had left a note and vanished. He wanted to hurt someone. Mostly, he wanted to impair Oliver. If he had just told Thea then the lies would have stopped. Thea would never had been mad and had never of had a reason to leave. He couldn't blame her, she was hurting. She just learned everyone in her life was lying to her, about her father, about how they spend their nights, about everything. Even some things she hadn't found out yet, all Roy wanted to do was stop the lies. He wanted to go back and change the past. Roy walked around the empty streets of the glades. The sound of police sirens wailed in the distance, filling the empty and dark streets with their song. He himself didn't seem to know where he was going but his feet did.

He had started out at his old house and had been walking for a long time. Finally he found himself at an old subway entrance. No one was around to keep him out so he slipped in. He found his way down to the boarding station, the tracks where quiet. Nobody was using the subway anymore. No one had since Mr. Salvation. Technically no one even knew that The Salvation had been using the subway. They just knew that the Arrow had stopped them. Apparently they never cleaned up his mess.

Roy jumped over the turnstile with hindrance. The Mirakuru was officially out of his system and so was the Pit Viper venom. His strength and agility wasn't what it used to be. But it wasn't completely gone. He was in much better shape than he was in originally but not as good it once was. He was okay with that, though. He didn't have to worry about hurting Thea….Thea, that's why he was down here, she was gone and he wanted to go back to the moment he lost her.

No, he didn't lose Thea when she found the bow and arrows under his bed. He lost her the moment he met The Hood. The moment he decided he needed to be like The Hood, he had unknowingly signed a contract agreeing to betray Thea's trust and lose her. If he had known at the time, he would never have looked for the Hood. But sometimes life wants you learn lessons the hard way.

Roy made it to the tracks and wasted no time jumping down to them. He walked for a while until he saw the old abandoned subway car on the tracks. He had only come down here one other time other than when he was kidnapped. And that was when He discovered that Oliver Queen was, in reality, The Arrow. He hadn't known what to think and he came down here, to the place he became obsessed, and he thought about it. About what joining them would mean. Now he needed the clarity this place provided once again. He needed to think about what to do without Thea. He practically screamed at Felicity to find her. And she had cringed at Roy's over the top reaction, his cursing and threatening. He felt slightly bad. He had always liked Barbie but he hated the fact that Thea was gone. Oliver had apologized immediately for the raise in noise level, and had told Roy to apologize as well but he stormed out instead. Probably not a good choice but he was livid and didn't seem to care about how the others must be feeling.

Roy boarded the subway car and pushed his way past the construction tarp, he passed the old bones of Mr. Salvation whose body was never taken out. At first it was gross and it stunk but after so long the body decayed and with it, the smell subsided. Now they were bones with clothes hanging off them and an arrow caught in between the rib cage. Part of him wanted to run and never turn back, but most of him was stuck in a trance.

_*flash back*_

He had been arranging this for weeks now, with Trever his second hand man. Scoping out the joint hadn't been difficult. They had gone in a few times to find security cameras, which there were none. The liquor joint was also a front for a brothel and the owner couldn't exactly film his illegal operations now, could he? So, he had opted for look outs with walkie-talkies twenty-four seven. Taking them out would be easy. They weren't buff men but Roy was street smart enough not to under-estimate the small ones. They were faster than the buff guys and could make a quick get-away if necessary. But Roy was talented and had no doubt he could take them out. It was Trever's job to get the weapons.

It was a simple job and he had ordered Trever to get the gun to him the day before the heist. Unfortunately Thea was there that day. He should have known she would be noisy. She kissed him until he was thoroughly distracted and then grabbed the brown bag dumping the contents into her hand. She was less than thrilled to find a gun in Roy's possession especially given to him in such a shady manor. She gave him the whole 'You can be better' speech. In hind sight, he probably should have just stayed there and listened to her lecture. But nooooo heaven forbid he catches a break, and instead he marched outside like the drama queen he was.

"Wow," He mutters, because despite everything she was there, in front of him. However, this time he knew what she was going to say, "I was waiting for this." He tells her still moving, he couldn't stop here, if he stopped he would have to look into her eyes and listen to her words. And his resolve would crumble.

"Waiting for what?" Thea asks all too innocently.

"The whole You-can-change-I-can-see-the-real-you speech." He motions to his surroundings with his arms wide open. "Look around Thea, this is home-sweet-home for me. You either starve or you do things that make you lucky enough to reach twenty-one." He stops to stare at her now. Hoping his words will sink into her thick skull.

Thea's eyes watered as she spoke, "I- I can't accept that." She was shaking her head in complete denial, refusing to see the truth that was right in front of her. The truth was written over their surroundings. From the old and weathered brick walls, the exposed trash cans, and the cheap, rusted tin roofs.

"No, you can't except me." He knew it was cliché for him to say it, but things are clichés because they're true.

"Roy Harper?" A booming voice calls his name behind him. The voice was demanding and was admit to be heard.

"Yeah?" Roy turns to face the man but not before acquiring a pinch in his neck, a needle, and blow to the head. He heard Thea scream and he saw the figure looming over him. He pulled out his gun and began firing. _Shit!_ He remembered he had emptied the gun to try to set Thea at ease. He didn't know how many times he fired the empty gun before he lost conciseness.

"He remembered talking. He didn't want to fight anymore. After the man asked him why HE should live, he realized. He shouldn't. He was no better than the lawyer. He was no better than that con-artist builder man. He was rotten, filth, scum of the street, "I don't deserve to live. No one will miss me." He said the words in defeat.

Then it happened. He heard the words and his heart picked up. He knew that was what he wanted to do. To make himself a better person, he needed to help. The world was falling apart and he and the Arrow were the only ones who noticed. He could serve justice, by helping the Arrow. The next words he heard saved his life. Not from the madman with a gun, but from himself. The words were nothing special but the man that said them, the words, no matter how insignificant gave him purpose.

"Let the kid go!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Bunches of thanks to Watlocked who has been nothing but helpful and encouraging to me since the first review. You can also thank Watlocked for inspiring me to write another chapter for Detective Lance. You can also just say Watlocked five times fast because it is very fun to say Watlocked, Watlocked, Watlocked, Watlocked, Watlocked. **

**Chapter 3: John Diggle**

John sat on the lair couch watching Felicity moving franticly about the tables set up in and organized square papers, maps, and receipts occupied every space on the silver equipment. She had been pouring herself into the new and improved Foundry Setting up lights, buying better equipment. She had even used Oliver's medical files to figure out his weight, height, and arm span to buy him a new custom bow. He didn't know much of how she did it, but he knew Oliver didn't deserve a girl like Felicity.

Ever since the day of the Undertaking she had a new nervousness about her. She would flinch every time she dropped something and brace herself for destruction at the fumble of a key stroke. He hated seeing her like this, scared and vulnerable. When Oliver left, her edginess became more developed and he would catch silent tears roll down her cheeks cascading into oblivion as they hit the floor while she fiddled with computer wires or lighting.

Almost a week after Oliver had disappeared Digg discovered the Felicity's apartment had been seriously damaged during the Undertaking and everyone in her complex had moved out gone to stay with family or friends. Whereas Felicity had no family in Starling and her only friends where gone or didn't know. After he discovered her sketchy living predicament he had forced her to move in with him whilst she looked for a new home. And a new home she found, this one better and more spacious than the last. This new place of residence was a quaint town house. This time located much further from the glades and closer to Queen Consolidated. She had put up quite the fight, saying she needed a place closer to Verdent in case of an emergency. But one sentence had ultimately won the argument on Diggle's part. "Oliver would want you as far from the Glades as possible, now more than ever."

Winning an argument with Felicity was no small feat, and something Oliver had never accomplished. So John had every intention of using that against to boy if he came home.

"Not 'If', Digg," Felicity interrupted his thoughts letting him know he had voiced the last part out loud. "When, when he comes home."

Diggle sighed, "Of course he will come home." He told her with a sad smile.

"And if he doesn't come home on his own, when I find out where he fled to I will grab him buy the ear and yank him home. Oh, and use my loud voice." She concluded her lips turning up at the mental image of her reprimanding Oliver while dragging him along by his ear like a disobedient toddler.

Diggle leaned back in the sofa Felicity had ordered for the foundry. The green leather was cold but the couch engulfed him in a frosty embrace. 'Like being hugged by Jack Frost.' Felicity had said. Digg stared at the ceiling thinking about the day he realized his life had become a whole lot harder. He could tell someone it was when he woke up in this blasted basement, but that wasn't true. He knew the day he met Oliver Queen, his life went from messy to a catastrophe.

* * *

_*Flashback*_

Let's just say a certain John Diggle was not looking forward to his new detail. He had previously been doing security for the cutest pair of twins the world had to offer. The two little girls had been a joy to watch and protect. The parents weren't the usual white collar family. They were the ones who raised their kids, not nannies and maids. They were there until the children left for school, and back in time to tuck them into bed. Elizabeth, the mother, making sure that her children always used 'Please' and 'Thank you'. The two little girls ran around more in one hour than he had in his extended stint in the military. It was always a joy to watch and protect the girls, and the tea parties were just a plus. However as Katie (one of the twins) had pointed out "Nothing gold can stay." With the sweet Robert Frost quote that came quietly from her small seven year old lips and a kiss to his cheek, Katie and her twin sister Sarah left for their boarding school in England. He had been in the security sector long enough to see his clients come and go. Either from illness or simply needed a change of scenery.

He didn't need to meet his new client to know he was going to be dealing with a snotty little trust-fund dolt. He was going to be protecting Oliver Jonas Queen for an unforeseen amount of time. Due to a threat on the young Queen's life or a kidnapping of some sort they now require his services. It wasn't unfamiliar to him that the Starling elite would seek him out for help. He had an extensive military background that provided him with quite the resume. He had spent the whole day preparing for his protection detail. If only he had known the trouble he would be getting in when he agreed to this job.

When he had said yes, he assumed a playboy billionaire with no respect. So as he stood there out on the loading bay of the Queen mansion, which in his humble opinion was improperly named (more like Queen castle) He had extremely low standards for the youngster that emerged from the mahogany doors.

"Oliver!" Moira called out to her son as he sped out of the doors. Clearly a kid on a mission "I want to introduce you to someone." John took that as a sign to step forward. So with all the enthusiasm he could muster (Which wasn't really all that much) he stepped towards the young man and his mother. "John Diggle, he will be accompanying you from now on." Mrs. Queen finished. Despite his lack of love for the family, he had to admit the child's mother really did seem to care and clearly loved her son very much.

"Mom, I don't need a babysitter." The young Queen looked a little baffled at the assumption that he was incapable of taking care of himself.

"Darling," Walter interjected, "Oliver is a grown man, and if he doesn't feel he needs our protection we should-" The wife of the suave, British man clearly not happy with the defending of her son interrupts him

"Yes I know, I understand but this is something I need." Moira looks at her oldest child and he can see Oliver visibly melt. The kid may be an idiot but he clearly cares about his mother just as she does for him. The young man's gaze shifts back to where he is standing. Begrudgingly the boy agrees and gets in the car.

"So," Oliver says apparently feeling the need to fill the tense silence. "What do I call you?"

John contemplates for the briefest of moments about what he would be willing to let the kid call him. "Diggle is good." He decided "Digg if you want."

What the boy says next is a slight shock to him. "You're ex-military." He doesn't state it as a question. He doesn't even sound surprised. It was simply an obvious fact to him.

"Yes Sir. I got a fifth airborne out of Kandahar, retired, been in the private sector a little more than four years now." John eyes the back seat briefly, "I don't want there to be any confusion, Mr. Queen. My ability to keep you from harm will outweigh your comfort." He waited for an answer but none came. "Do we have an agreement?" Still no comment from the peanut gallery. "Sir?" He looked in the rear view mirror, "Sir?"

The sound of a door opening startled him making him turn his head to check the back seat relieving nothing. "SIR!?" He asks again more panic in his tone. He slams on the break ignoring the honking horn of other disapproving drivers. He quickly jumps out of the car and opens up the back seat. Nothing, no Queen boy to be found. He looks around in awe and anger checking for the young heir. Yep, this was defiantly no ordinary job.

* * *

"I've got it! I knew it!" Felicity's happy cry tore him away from his nostalgic recollection.

"You've got what Felicity?" Digg inquires about the blonde's suddenly peppy outlook on life. He gently lifts himself from the couch and saunters over to a very happy Felicity.

"I found Oliver." She looks at him with her big, blue eyes. "I think he went back to Lain Yu." She shuffles her thing around to show the physical evidence of her current state of belief. She had gone after two different leads so far but still had an extreme amount of hope.

"Right then," Diggle say grabbing the back pack Felicity had forced him to have on the ready and begn following a very excited Felicity out of the lair. "Let's get our Gilligan on."


End file.
